Flame Stadium Champion (Kinect Sports)

I think the proudest I’ve ever been was when I figured out how to ride a bicycle without using any hands. It was during college when I lived in Washington and biked everywhere. I biked 5 miles to work and 8 miles to school. Biking was my primary method of transportation. Before that, I had never been a big bicycle person. I learned how to ride a little late, around eleven or so. I loved riding around our small town, but our house was not on a great street for bicycles and a mile and a half removed from the town center. During those heady college bicycling years, it took me a while to build up the courage just to take one hand off the handlebar for a moment. I was so certain that I would instantly fall over. I’ve always had very poor balance. Once I learned I could do that, I slowly started experimenting with taking both hands off for a moment. I learned that the trick is just to scoot your butt towards the very back of the seat and lean yourself back as far as possible. When I got to the point that I could take my hands off for as long as I wanted, eventually incorporating slight turns, I felt invincible. It was the first “trick” I ever learned. I found ways to insert my new prowess into all sorts of conversations, I felt like a beaming father showing off my little baby. I never got to the point where I felt comfortable racing down hills on a bicycle, though. I just couldn’t give up control completely once I started to feel it slipping away. I was always the wuss squeaking his breaks the whole time down a long hill or getting out and walking if it was a seriously steep incline. But I always felt ok with that, the thrill-seeker gene has never been part of my DNA. I will always prefer mastering small tasks through repetition rather than the feeling of ceding all control and giving in to blind faith or muscle memory.